Technology

Alistair Fairweather

I can still remember when DStv launched in 1995. I was in my last year of high school and the whole idea was so futuristic and exciting. TV from space! Now, more than 30 years later, the technology is outdated, the medium is passé and the business model is increasingly untenable.

If this sounds like a gross overstatement, consider that MultiChoice, which operates DStv, lost 500 000 subscribers last year – over 3% of its total. This loss caused the shares of its new parent company, French media giant Canal+, to fall by 17% in a single day.